Do you ever miss the joys of having a good serving of muah chee while you’re staying at home? It’s hard enough to find takeaways or deliveries for this local favourite, so what do you do when you’re craving this nutty snack? Make your own, of course!
I’ve always enjoyed muah chee since childhood, and I’m sure you did as well. The only muah chee stalls I used to patronise were pop-up stalls in shopping malls and those at pasar malams, and it has never crossed my mind to make my own. To be frank, it has been a while since I’ve savoured the nutty goodness of this delectable snack.
For those who are unsure about what muah chee is, it’s a chewy glutinous rice snack that is covered with peanuts. Commonly found in Malaysia as well, it’s safe to say that it has won the hearts of many around Southeast Asia.
Here’s how you can make your very own muah chee in your kitchen with the simplest ingredients.
Ingredients
Muah Chee Dough
- ½ cup of glutinous rice flour
- 1 tsp of sugar
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 1 tbsp of cooking oil
- ¾ cup of water
Toppings
- 1 cup of grounded peanuts
- ¼ cup of sugar
Tools
- Steamer
- Large plate
- Spatula
- Bowl
- Scissors
- Spoon
Recipe Preparation
Preparation time: 5 minutes; Cooking time: 20 minutes
Feeds two
- Prepare your grounded peanuts and mix it with the sugar. Set this mixture aside.
- Prepare your steamer and bring the water to a boil.
- Mix all the muah chee dough ingredients (glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt, cooking oil, water) into a large plate and place it into the steamer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the steamer and stir it immediately.
- Let the dough cool for 10 minutes.
- Pick up a section of the dough and cut it up to your desired size.
- Coat each piece of dough in the bowl of toppings and plate them.
- Serve immediately.
Recipe (In Pictures)
Step 1: Prepare all your ingredients beforehand to have a smoother cooking experience.
Step 2: Combine your grounded peanuts and sugar. Set this aside later for the coating process.
Step 3: Prepare your steamer and bring the water to a boil.
Step 4: Add all the ingredients of the muah chee dough (glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt, cooking oil, water) into the large plate and mix it until it’s a flat mixture.
Step 5: Place the plate into the steamer and let it cook for 20 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the mixture from heat and stir it immediately. Stirring it will improve its texture. Do be careful with the dough because it will be extremely sticky.
Step 7: Let the dough cool for 10 minutes.
Step 8: Pick up a section of the dough and cut it up to your desired size. You might want to coat your scissors and utensils with some cooking oil so the dough doesn’t stick to them.
Step 9: Coat each piece of dough with the peanut topping and plate them.
Step 11: Make sure the muah chee is served immediately, because it gets stickier and chewier with time.
There you have it—a delicious traditional snack you can munch on to suppress your cravings. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty impressed at how I whipped up this dish in less than 30 minutes with minimal effort. Because of the texture of muah chee, I expected the preparation process to be a little messier, but it ran smoothly in my opinion.
Seeing the generously coated glutinous rice pieces, I felt as if I was transported back to when I was a kid and my mum used to buy me this yummy snack whenever I got hungry.
The texture was absolutely perfect—chewy and springy, topped with a nice crunch from the nuts.
I’m not sure why I was so surprised when I tasted it, because it tasted exactly like muah chee I’ve had outside. Maybe I just didn’t have the faith that I could actually make it myself at home.
For those who want to try their hand at this recipe, I strongly recommend that you take your chances. This recipe left me with no room for error, and it was super easy in my opinion.
Give this recipe a shot if you’re missing the traditional snack and do let us know how you did. Check out our other simple stay-home recipes if you’re looking for a bigger challenge. Happy cooking!
Expected Damage: S$2 per portion
